


To Put Rivalry Aside

by MunTiller



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, F/F, Hornet has poison, Hornet needs a fucking hug, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Bad At Tagging, Lace is a bit ruthless, Near Death Experiences, Not Beta Read, Serious Injuries, Spider!Hornet, We Die Like Men, and she is not fucking afraid to use it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23949691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MunTiller/pseuds/MunTiller
Summary: “If you don’t let me help you right now, then you won’t be able to go back to your comfy nest.” Hornet seemed confused at the statement, so Lace had to change her plans by a bit if she wanted to convince her rival.“I could simply wait here and bring your body to the church once you’re dead. Is that what you really want, little spider?” She asked as she leaned her head closer to Hornet’s, making the warrior mewl in slight terror for the first time in years.Hornet hated being powerless so much.
Relationships: Hornet & The Knight (Hollow Knight), Hornet/Lace (Hollow Knight), The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet
Comments: 11
Kudos: 112





	To Put Rivalry Aside

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! I wrote this as if they were human, so some things might seem weird if you look at them in their in-game forms. Nothing really major, tho, wouldn't ruin the whole experience in my opinion. Thank you for reading!

Herrah had never been a creature of deep, caring nature and Hornet was aware of that since the very beginning. The beast was never one to give hugs or comforting words; she was severe and never made a point to hide her hatred towards the king, Hornet’s biological father.

In a way, Hornet understood it. The Wyrm seemed just as hateful to her as he seemed to her mother, so Hornet never tried to develop any kind of relationship with him. If he hadn't tried to reach her in the first place, she doubted she would have even known him at all.

He always seemed so calm around her, almost caring, but she never stopped wondering if he could have been a good father to her in the first place. Would he have been as cruel to her as he had been towards his other children? 

She preferred not to know, ignorance is bliss after all.

Herrah, to Hornet, was everything she knew about family, but even then she had to admit she knew very little about who her mother was. Her memory always failed her in those circumstances and she hated herself for it, because she knew her mother was much more than her mind could bring up.

By the rumors Hornet had heard before the entire kingdom had been destroyed, she understood it partially, albeit a little begrudgingly. Her mother was not welcoming, she was not friendly and only cordial when it was needed, and she never let her guard down. Her mother was, in fact, a person so far from a parent it was a wonder how she had been able to care for a child for so long.

Looking back at it now – at the woman who had taught Hornet how to hunt, hide and even stitch her own wounds together – it was hard imagining her living somewhere that wasn't Deepnest's old distant village. It pained Hornet to admit it, but her people had never been raised to live in a big society, they were all lone hunters just like her.

She missed those old days. 

_"One day, little one, I will not be here for you or Deepnest anymore."_ Herrah said calmly as she gently caressed the child's hair, who was quietly lying on her lap. _"I want you to take my place and defend our people from the Wyrm's selfishness. It will not be a simple task, but it must be done.”_

Hornet never understood the vulnerability her mother’s voice carried, too young to realize how close her peaceful life was to end. She nodded tiredly, hugging her mother before dozing off, the vibrations of her mother’s patient laughs aiding her on her small mission.

It took only three more weeks before her mother was called upon her duty with the king, and Hornet remembered that day very well because it was from there her life started going downhill. Of course she didn't get to say a proper goodbye as her childish mind played it off as something temporary. She regretted not pressing the matter further with the weavers. It felt like the truth would have been easier to get around if she knew it sooner.

In the end, she couldn’t help but blame the Wyrm, who had disappeared two years after his plans failed and the kingdom started to crumble. Without options, Hornet had to watch the people she had known surrender to the infection one by one, their minds painfully stolen and identities forcefully erased. For her, every day became a fight against that same fate from then on.

Every night as she slept she had to stay partially awake, because if she slept fully she knew the infection would take over. As a mean of survival, she threw away her deepest dreams and wishes, she ceased her grieving painfully soon and let go of those feelings of hatred she felt towards the failure her father was. In hindsight, she had become something hardly different from those husks that wandered the kingdom.

She, some years later in her life, that she hadn’t really grown to be too different from her mother. The difference was that, well, she hardly felt like she had to sacrifice herself for a “greater good” and she had almost no attachments to Hallownest whatsoever. The only people she cared about were her own two siblings that she could still see and touch, Hollow and Ghost.

Sometimes she wondered if there would ever be a day she would be able to save Hollow from the infection, if she would ever be brave enough to do it herself instead of relying on Little Ghost.

Hornet… missed them. She really did, now. Brought forcefully so far from home, she refused to cave into her anxieties and fears of the unknown, of what awaited her on the next “floor” of this gigantic kingdom called Pharloom, but she still couldn’t stop thinking about them. She somehow missed the silent presence of her siblings nearby, even if she was the one who had to protect them in the end.

Hornet felt paranoid, a knight so deeply traumatized by the daily horrors of her own existence her fears had come to be things one would consider normal. In this kingdom everyone was so loud and cheerful, she couldn’t even hear her own thoughts let alone an enemy coming near. It was overwhelming, undeniably so.

“Why is everyone so loud, and active, and _alive?_ ” She asked herself as she sat on a bench in an isolated room, thankful that no soul in Pharloom ever entered those sacred places except her. As she put her weapons down, Hornet brought her knees up to her chest like a child all over again. She had never done this before, she felt so undeniably weak. “I don’t get it.”

The next morning she went to explore more as a way of compensating for having given up the day before. She ran, fought, jumped, even bought some new equipment she would have to learn how to use better. For once in weeks she could say she was proud of how much progress she had made.

Until it came to a sudden halt.

She closed her eyes as a laugh echoed through her head. It was lightweight, easygoing, almost welcoming. It was melodic. After being surrounded by machines with their loud noises and "clanks" for a long time now, it felt peaceful, perhaps even a little unfairly. Hornet wished she could be as relaxed as the girl in front of her right now.

White clothes and a golden pin, Lace carried herself with graciousness and confidence, as if she knew Hornet was in no condition of fighting. She laughed again as she noticed how uncomfortable the warrior seemed, making Hornet flinch slightly at how sweet the sound was to her ears.

"The poor little spider fell out of her cage, such a shame, isn’t it?" The girl seemed delighted to simply see Hornet, like a predator who just found its prey. Hornet tilted her head to the side, claws almost glued to her nail after clenching it for so long.

“Who are you?” The spider muttered loud enough for Lace to hear, her tiredness noticeable through her voice and unusually static demeanor. Lace tilted her head to the side, a smile still on her face.

“Nothing but a friend, little spider, I am here purely to put you out of your misery.” Hornet visibly tensed, although she was not at all surprised. She rarely found anyone around this kingdom who was open to help her climb up.

With a silent sigh, Hornet lifted the back of her nail to see how much silk she still had.

“That’s not very good.” She said out loud to her rival, even though she seemed to be more distracted with her own weapon. “I have no friends whatsoever, your audacity is impressive.”

Lace lifted a hand to her mouth as she chuckled, only annoying Hornet further through her fatigue.

“If you are here to fight, then cease with the pleasantries and raise your nail.” The spider took upon her instance, knowing very well that Lace was not there to talk. They waited not a single second more, weapons clashing as adrenaline took over their bodies.

She wished to hear it again, that melodic laugh.

It brought back memories from her childhood, from when she and the little weavers ran around their village, climbing and jumping all over the place. From that time when Hornet was so small she could hide in a hole at the entrance tunnel and no one would find her apart from her dear mother.

She remembered that one time she heard her mother laugh out loud, happy to see Hornet tricking a little weaver into a silk trap.

She even remembered that one lonely time she went to explore the king's palace only to find a door she couldn’t enter. That one time she laughed with someone through that door, only to call to them the next day and hear nothing back.

She missed the sound of laughter. Not the evil and perverse one people directed towards her in Pharloom so often, but the pure and genuine version of it, the one children would always have. She wanted, no, needed to hear it again, like a starving person looking for food.

Not that, now, she could ever tell the difference between her hunger and this strange need to see happiness. It had been three weeks since she had last eaten anything now. Hornet was starving, so much her nail felt way too heavy, it was a miracle she could even move at all.

She liked to believe it was the sole reason she'd almost died that day, during the fight against Lace. It wasn’t because she was losing hope, it wasn’t because she was already hurt, it was starvation. That could be the only reason for her failure.

Bruised, body damaged beyond repair, that was not only the state she was left in as she ran for her life, but also the state in which she already found herself in way before fighting Lace. Hornet had never been good with self care, it was no wonder her stitches kept opening up, her bruises never went away and her clothes looked so old and crappy now.

It was part of her nature, really. She couldn't stay still, it was impossible. She just couldn't do it. Back home, staying still meant getting caught in silk traps everywhere when she was younger, and getting ambushed when she was older.

Of course it had already been a problem back then, but in Hallownest she had more time to take care of those wounds, she could relax hunting in less active areas while her injuries recovered. In Pharloom, whoever, she had no window to rest on her own ways. She either stopped completely for weeks or kept going.

She knew very well staying still here meant getting caught by the acolytes, and she definitely didn’t want any of them to get a hold of her, so she chose the latter, she just didn't stop.

_Never._

She kept fighting and fighting until she could barely feel her arms anymore. Hands left bruised so much the skin was bright red, bleeding heavily, palms glued to her nail and bandages upon bandages all over her wounds, stained with her blood because she just couldn't stop long enough to give a damn.

People noticed, but most of them never dared to question it because they understood it very well. In such a place like this no one could be treated as a friend, she was technically outnumbered by thousands, so of course she would be in such a state all the time. Injured, paranoid, irritated and tired.

She came and went, bleeding all over the kingdom while leaving behind another trail of blood that didn’t belong to her. She was like a ghost, rumors spread so fast it was terrifying, yet no one did anything, not a single foe – of course they wouldn’t as for them it was an advantage – or friend. Hornet understood that she was alone in a place she wasn’t wanted.

It took her around three weeks before she reached a limit and she just couldn't move anymore, she had no strength to even think straight. Chest tight, throat dry and hands shaking like a damn earthquake, she held her composure as best as she could until she could reach a bench, but when she did, she immediately collapsed.

Her mind was hazy, vision foggy, and once she fell to the ground, she could hardly even move her body anymore. She felt like she was freezing, her energy draining from her body.

She missed her siblings.

She missed Hollow and their silent presence over the black egg, she missed the small Ghost that had done so much around their kingdom, she missed the shadows she had started to visit not long after the passage to the abyss was open; She missed her old life.

With a grunt, she refused to believe it would end here, so far from them and their home. So far from her mother who had sacrificed herself for that cursed land, from the hive where Hornet had been trained to become who she was now; So far from everything she knew.

With almost no energy, Hornet pulled herself to a corner of the room, hiding herself behind a pillar that there stood. Her ears were ringing, overtaken by the voices and sounds from the old forests of Greenpath and the calm winds of the Kingdom's Edge. She felt like she was being put to sleep by a kind lullaby, by a melody she recognized and the gods had been kind enough to give to her as a last wish.

Distracted by her own imagination, Hornet whimpered as she hugged her knees, blinking incessantly to try and stay awake. Perhaps if she waited long enough, her wounds would close and her body would replenish her blood, then she could go back to climbing, to trying to get home.

"Little spider?" No. Please god, _not now._

Her hands started shaking, eyes barely focused enough to see the woman in front of her. She growled weakly as a warning, but to Hornet’s dismay her enemy barely paid mind to it, approaching as if she wasn’t almost dying in front of her.

She must have been delighted, really. To see the spider in such a pathetic situation must have been the happiest moment of her life since she was so adamant on killing her. The warrior had to remind herself not to let her hate grow any bigger.

"Hornet? Can you hear me?" Lace crouched in front of her, her expression a mixture between seriousness, worry and fear.

Great. It was good to at least know her enemy would be able to witness her death, if she was to die that is, because she hadn’t given up just yet, Hornet was only resting. She growled again as she felt a gloved hand touch her knee, pushing her own body back as far as she could, but barely moving inches.

"You poor thing, what have you done?" She heard Lace ask, voice coated with sweetness and worry she never thought she would hear again.

_“My sweet child, what have you done this time? Show me where it hurts.”_

Frustrated by her audacity, Hornet started feeling the bitter taste of her own poison as it instinctively started coating her fangs, she could also feel her claws becoming sharper, her body working with itself in its last remnants of energy to build an emergency protection device.

How dared she? Hornet questioned silently, unable to find her voice. Lace had been following Hornet around for weeks now, pushing her mission of reaching Pharloom’s summit behind almost effortlessly, and now she had the audacity of caring? Just now, when Hornet absolutely did not need her help?

Her breath halted for a moment as Lace came closer and this time she let out a hiss as a last warning. If she came any closer, she would be bitten like a steak. Lace seemed not to care, whoever, lifting her hand to reach for Hornet’s red cloak.

With no further warning, Hornet lounged at Lace’s hand, teeth doubling in size to make the attack more effective. It didn’t work, whoever, as Lace was ready for that – and how couldn’t she? Hornet had given so many warnings –, pulling her pin out suddenly and putting it on the way.

Hornet growled as Lace pushed her head back until she hit the wall, the pin between the spider’s teeth slowly getting soaked in poison Lace knew better than to touch.

Unbeknownst to Hornet, Lace was much experienced in dealing with spiders, she worked almost directly under the queen for that matter. She knew what kinds of poison they had, she knew their behavioral patterns when in stressful situations, but most importantly right now, she knew how to take care of their wounds. That was the sole reason she hadn’t taken Hornet to a doctor yet, besides the fact that the acolytes wanted her at all costs.

“If you don’t let me help you right now, then you won’t be able to go back to your comfy nest.” Hornet seemed confused at the statement, so Lace had to change her plans by a bit. “If you don’t cooperate, I could simply wait here and bring your body to the church once you’re dead. Is that what you really want, little spider?” Lace asked as she leaned her head closer to Hornet’s, making the warrior mewl in slight terror for the first time in years.

Of course she wouldn’t do that, she wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of getting rid of all acolytes nearby if that was her initial intention. But hey, she had to find a way of convincing the supposed princess, hadn’t she? 

With her free hand, she lifted the spider’s cloak to see how bad the damage was. How are you still alive? She asked silently as she took from her pocket a small glass with medicine in it, pulling her glove off with her teeth as she did _not_ want to let Hornet go.

Carefully, she poured a small quantity of the liquid over the injuries, making the princess hiss loudly at that, Hornet almost having become numb to the pain as she kept getting hurt. With her free hand, Lace started spreading it over her torso, ignoring how the spider kept squirming under her touch.

As if in a sudden moment of realization, Hornet’s body immediately identified the situation as danger and in a last resort of survival, it sent her the rest of energy it had.

"Get away from me!" She said as loud as she could from behind the pin on her mouth, flinging her fist at Lace's direction, only to get it caught midair with no struggle. Lace, seeing her other fist coming from the opposite side, let go of her pin to hold it, pulling Hornet into a forced embrace as she held both of her hands.

"Shh, shh, calm down Hornet." She said as the princess struggled against her grasp, muttering nonsense. The pin fell between them and Lace guessed the spider would soon pass out by blood loss as her movements eventually started getting weaker.

Slowly, Lace sat on her knees to take in Hornet’s weight as she became too weak to bear it herself. "Shh, it's alright, it's alright." She pulled the terrified warrior closer, holding her in a warm embrace that made everything Hornet knew about her come in a conflict.

Why was she being so nice now out of a sudden? If she wanted to help Hornet, why hadn’t she done it before? Somehow, she felt like all of this was just a stunt to get rid of her in a more dramatic fashion. It seemed to be something Lace would do.

With a small gasp, feeling weak again, Hornet tried to stop herself from leaning on Lace's shoulder, all to no avail. She pulled her wrists back, finding resistance in her foe's firm grip.

"Please, I… I'm not going to die here, my siblings-" Was a part of Hornet's quiet rant muffled by Lace's clothes, of which she paid no mind for now. If Hornet wanted to be open about her past, then Lace would hear it from her mouth when she was back to her senses.

"Shh, it's alright, I've got you, no need to worry anymore." She reassured calmly, although she was not sure if it had even made a difference. Patient as she ever was, she waited a bit more before getting back into action, making sure Hornet wouldn't try to bite her again before going back to her injuries.

The next minutes were spent with Lace holding Hornet's fists with one hand and taking care of her wounds with the other, all while the spider kept struggling weakly, mumbling phases of hate and pleas of forgiveness at the same time. 

Once again, Lace felt bad, but at least this time she took action upon her feelings. Again and again she found herself pitying the spiders the acolytes brought from farther lands to be enslaved, only to always hold herself back from assisting them in fleeing. She never knew why she couldn’t do it, but something deep in her mind always told her to keep to her own business and to simply attend to their injuries. She tried to make it as quick and gentle as possible to compensate for her idleness.

Lace was something far from a doctor, she had never even studied for that, but to those poor spiders? She was a small miracle in the middle of so much suffering. Thinking about them, she was determined to do something good at least once before she was executed for treason.

Once Hornet calmed down, Lace finally let go of her wrists, only to take into her arms. Hornet struggled as always, fully believing the girl was about to take her to the acolytes, but stopped once she realized there were none outside the bench room.

No bells, no creepy chanting, no warriors in a white uniform much like Lace’s.

Out of breath, she couldn’t bring herself to ask Lace about what she was doing, only letting out a painful groan as they started moving. The other laughed sweetly. "Hold tight, my little spider.”

 _My_ little spider? What was that supposed to mean?

Hornet, now too tired to be even bothered by Lace's words, hid her face on her enemy's neck, taking in the sweet scent of her perfume before unknowingly passing out. She hated this feeling so much, being completely powerless in comparison to her enemies.

Lace started walking towards her hideout, of which she only used in emergencies. She would do it right this time, she thought. She would finally take upon herself to help this spider, even if it meant throwing away everything she had fought for until now.

Kissing Hornet's forehead carefully, she let out a sigh.

And off they went, to god knows where. Hornet only hoped that she would later be able to wake up and find out this was all a dream.


End file.
